


stars in a cosmic fuss

by circleofplanets



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Fluff, Happy Ending (somewhat), Harry deserves a big hug, Jealousy, Light Angst, M/M, Manipulative Tom Riddle, POV Tom Riddle, Public Sex, Timeline What Timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:41:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24932443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/circleofplanets/pseuds/circleofplanets
Summary: Denial pushes you up the precipice into the sea of lies till you are forced to swim towards the truth. Tom Marvolo Riddle is willing to do more than push.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort
Comments: 28
Kudos: 329





	stars in a cosmic fuss

The enchanted ceiling showed a multi-dimensional view of Van Gogh’s The Starry Night that had the first-years entering the Great Hall enamoured, especially the muggleborns. The giddy excitement resulted in nervous chatter and quick, shuffling feet as they arrived in messy rows for the Sorting Ceremony. Moreover, it seemed the excitement was infectious since the senior students themselves were particularly loud tonight.

Frankly, the noisy ambience and the jarring ceiling only served to make Tom want to cave his head in. An unknown irritation was thrumming just under the surface of his skin, crawling like a colony of ants and making him uncomfortable. He wished it was possible to scatter them with a slap of a palm. He could feel the members of his clique getting jittery, unaware of the reason for their leader’s bad mood and feeling unmoored without any instructions from him. They would glance at him, then at the first-years and finally at the other rowdy students, implicitly asking if they should pay attention to the ceremony or treat it as nothing.

Pair of dolts, Tom couldn’t help but think. They usually were more competent than this, especially Abraxas. This was only serving to pile more to his irritation.

“Pay attention. Make them feel welcome. Be engaging. But not too much. We can’t have them annoying us for every little thing. We have an image to maintain, so above all, _be accommodating_ today,” Tom ordered in an octave barely above a whisper but all his Death Eaters snapped their attention to him as if he had shouted. He could already see the slight changes in posture, the straightening of the spine, brushing away of lint, sideswiping of unruly hair.

Such rapt and strict follow through of his commands never failed to satisfy him. And today was no different. He could feel himself relax a bit and actually turn his attention to the staff podium away from the door where the teachers had started arriving. Minerva McGonagall strode across the platform with the Sorting Hat and placed it on a wooden chair. He could see Sluggy already pouring wine and getting an early start on the festivities. Dumbledore was scanning the crowd and munching on Lemon Drops probably.Tom’s attention was immediately stolen again by the newest entry to the Great Hall as his head whipped towards the entrance door.

Harry Potter was terribly late. And completely alone.

Tom could feel a gush of air leave his chest at the sight. So that blonde harlot had either backed out of confessing at the last moment or she had gotten rejected. Hopefully the latter. He could feel a mean smirk tug at the corners of his lips and smoothed it out. 

Harry had seated himself among his friends, his fingers already inching towards a treacle tart. Tom couldn’t help the slight fondness at the sight and went for one himself. Mirroring actions garnered attention, especially in someone who was aware of him. So Tom was ready for the sudden eye contact with Harry when it happened. 

He could see the slight parting of cherry red lips, widening of striking green eyes and felt a dark mass stir. An amalgamation of possessiveness, obsession and lust that nestled in the pit of his stomach. 

The reaction was swiftly replaced with a glare and Tom didn’t bother to fight the grin that overtook his face. He could feel Abraxas shift beside him and knew he had witnessed the exchange. And also knew that right now, Abraxas wanted Harry Potter buried six feet under. Let him wallow in his caustic feelings. It would only make Malfoy more receptive and desperate to fulfil his wishes. 

After that, the dinner was tedious and the Slytherin House received it’s new students like a matron armed with a ladle. Whatever bad manners that they had was corrected, albeit a bit gently and after an approving nod from Tom, everyone relaxed. 

Miranda Bellford was conspicuously absent throughout dinner and Tom whiled his time away with sneak glances at Harry. He looked particularly delicious tonight, his messy hair somewhat tamed and falling into his eyes, his clothes still impeccable contrary to how shabby they became after a whole day.

This gave Tom a sudden stop. Harry was one those beings to whom punctuality and discipline were words mentioned in self-help books that he would never bother reading. Unruly hair and rumpled clothes were his weapons of rebellion and in addition, an extension of his own school of thought. 

And he was lazy.

So to make such an effort in terms of appearance put up red flags in Tom’s head. He could feel another incoming headache.

Seems like its time for another visit.

❊●❊

The restricted section of the library was barred from entry unless you had a permission slip from one of the faculty member. Tom usually swindled one out of Sluggy easily and sometimes even Dumbledore. The old coot had a soft spot for him and placed unflinching faith in him. The tall male sneered at the fact that it was one of the reasons he hadn’t practiced some of the deeper, darker rituals.

He now stood in one of the aisles of the restricted section, hidden behind a bookcase as he watched Harry graze the spine of Owle Bullock’s _Secrets Of The Darkest Art._

Harry was an attractive guy but when he was curious, especially in the Dark Arts, he was _irresistible_. 

Tom stepped out of his hiding spot and moved stealthily towards the lean, pale figure who was vacillating between which books to read. He went for a grip to the neck when he saw the figure turning and then in a flash, there was a hand on his own neck and Tom was staring into blazing, green eyes of Harry Potter.

“God, Tom. Is it that hard to announce your presence? Not everything has to be part of a dramatic show,” Harry said with a roll of his eyes.

He was so mean, Tom thought with delight. He felt like licking the words right out of that smart mouth.

Some of his intentions must have been visible on his face because he could see Harry start to blush and his pupils dilating. Tom tightened his grip and then savagely kissed Harry. 

It felt like he had passed the whole day with the world upside downand it had finally righted itself again. A fiery heat lanced his inside and Tom pushed his tongue into Harry’s mouth. 

A moan left him and Tom felt himself preening. Harry had given up all effort of resistance and had wrapped his arms around Tom’s neck, pulling closer and closer. Riddle pushed into the partition between his boy’s thighs and rubbed his own thigh against the growing hardness. 

His fingers creeped inside Harry’s shirt, ascending to flick his nail against pert nipples and then descending to grab the globes of his ass. A high keening noise and Tom flicked his hand for a privacy ward. Harry tried to stifle his moans in the crook of Tom’s neck and Tom definitely didn’t want that.

He moved his mouth close to Harry’s ear and nibbled on it. “ _Darling, don’t you dare_. I want to hear every moan, every plea. I want everyone to know to whom you belong.” It might be fun not to inform about the wards. He knew Harry was a thrill junkie.

Some of his words must have registered through the haze because Harry immediately backlashed with a caustic tone. “I belong to _no one_ , Tom.”

Excitement started to thrum in his veins. Tom liked it when his boy was pliant and willing. But he _absolutely loved_ it when his boy was defiant and fighting.

He reared back a little so Harry could see the savage grin on his face. He gripped the square chin and kissed a trail of fiery kisses up Harry’s face. 

“Harry, baby, I would fuck you across the Gryffindor table so that everyone in the Great Hall, including you, knows to whom you belong.”

He could feel the visceral effect that his words had as Harry’s cock twitched and his frame trembled. Tom kneaded his ass and then let his index run against Harry’s crack through the clothing. One breathy moan elicited along with his name and Tom’s flimsy control snapped.

His fingers quickly unbuttoned Harry’s trousers and rucked up his shirt so he had unobscured view of Harry’s beautiful body. He murmured enchantments as his boy pulled out Tom’s cock and did away with his shirt in a frenzy.

He pushed one lubricated finger and then two inside Harry’s fluttering hole and then scissored him until his darling was a writhing mess. Tom pushed one leg up and then he was inside, his cock sliding in with one single thrust. Harry thumped his head against the bookcase and pulled his face down to initiate a messy, wet kiss as Tom started increasing his pace. He was soon thrusting with abandon, Harry’s filthy moans urging him up the precipice and then he was falling into a sea of white.

He was about to pull out when Harry stopped him. Oh, he had forgotten how much Harry liked it when he stayed inside after sex. Tom took the time to properly look him over. His darling was flushed all over, his lips parted and half-lidded eyes staring back at him. Tom didn’t know what came over him but he was soon bending down to kiss both of Harry’s eyelids, moving down to peck his nose and then capturing his soft lips in a warm kiss. 

His hands softened their grip around Harry’s waist until he was simply holding him. He didn’t know why but he wanted to be gentle with Harry, be more intimate with him. Tom could feel him melting and his heart soared with something. Something he didn’t want to acknowledge. Not until their arrangement became more permanent anyway.

He slowly pulled out when he became oversensitive. Harry let out a whimper and Tom kissed him again. 

“Go on a date with me, Harry,” he whispered against Harry’s lips.

When he looked up, Tom felt he might finally get a yes.

“No. I’m sorry.”

He felt like punching a hole through a wall.

He needed space. He needed to plan. He needed to _reinvent._

Tom stepped back and Harry moved forward as if to grasp him. Then he slumped back as if all his energy had suddenly siphoned out of him. 

Tom quickly muttered the cleaning charms and then righted his own uniform. He looked at Harry to see him simply staring with a lost look in his eyes. Tom knew he was being harsh but god, he was frustrated. He couldn’t understand why Harry wasn’t saying yes when he wanted to, when it was clear they were meant to be together.

Leaving Harry in this state would have two results. Either Harry might feel pushed into saying yes since he had tendency to sometimes be a people pleaser or whatever doubts that prevented him from accepting Tom’s proposal would be cemented.

He already knew which was the more likely option.

Tom stepped closer again and brushed a hand through Harry’s hair until it looked less messy. He then dropped on the balls of his toes and put Harry’s leg through one of his pant leg and then pulled them up along with his underwear. He slowly buttoned up the shirt and then tucked it into the black pants. 

When he looked up at Harry’s hair, he messed them up again. Let people know he had been fucked nice and good.

He didn’t meet Harry’s eyes and simply buried his face in the crook of his boy’s neck. 

“Did someone propose to you today?” He asked softly.

Harry shuffled against him and then linked his arms with unbuttoned cuffs around Tom’s neck. “Yes. Miranda…something.”

Tom let himself smile a little. “What was your answer?”

Harry cuffed his head lightly. “You already know.”

He let a laugh loose. Then with a feigned nonchalant tone, he asked the more pertinent question. “You looked neat for once in your lifetime at dinner. Who are you trying to impress?”

He felt Harry’s shoulders shaking and when he tried to move back, Harry simply tightened his hold. 

“Why are you laughing, for god’s sake?”

He could feel Harry take a deep breath and then grow silent. He was avoiding the answer. Why?

“Tell me. Who is it?” He tried to hide the murderous intent behind the question. And the slight panic.

At the raven-haired male’s continued silence, he tried to break the embrace but he was pulled back in immediately.

“Who do you think, you dummy,”Harry whispered in a soft, vulnerable tone in Tom’s ear. 

“It was for you.”

Tom felt surprised. And then pleased. 

“God, I can feel you getting smug about this.” Harry hooked his chin on Tom’s shoulder and then swayed them side to side. Tom let himself be swayed.

“I know what you are going to ask. But not now, Tom. Not today.” Harry relaxed when Tom let it be. The musty smell of cellulose decay and Harry’s own woodsy scent was making him feel light. He wished he could bottle it up and keep it with him.

“Harry.” He could already sense him getting tensed again. 

“I have seen you drenched in _Armadillo Bile Mixture_. Why even put in the effort to look nice for me?”

Harry let out a huff and then thumped his head. 

“ _Ass_ ,” he said fondly.

Despite it getting late, they stayed for a little while longer.

❊●❊

Tom remembers the first time he saw Harry Potter. It had been long before coming to Hogwarts, before they had even known magic existed, before they had been more than just freaks.

Wool’s orphanage had been tiresome for someone like Tom, who knew he was special long before others did. The creaking of the stairs telling him to run, the cracks in the walls echoing of futures ruined, the dirty windows showing what lay beyond. He didn’t like staying there so he used to escape at every opportunity and visit book stalls, pilfering books with greedy fingers.

Mrs. Cole had caught on easily and came to an agreement with him. He could stay away every day if he wanted to. But he had to work at Smith’s Everyday Essentials for six hoursbarring Tuesday to pay his dues for shirking out of responsibilities at the orphanage. 

“And if you are good, I might even give you a penny every now and then,” she had said, with her yellow teeth and wagging, fat finger in his face.

Working at the shop hadn’t been bad. The owner, Rudolph, usually remained absent and customer inflow was scarce. If Tom turned the sign from open to close every now and then for an hour or two to read, no one knew any better. 

He could still remember that it had been a Friday. The heat wave had him irritated and he had been rolling around the idea of flipping the sign when a pale, frail figure had entered the store. Harry had been a terribly tiny thing at that time and the second-hand clothes had been hanging on bony shoulders and covering malnourished body.

He had asked for a roll of duct tape and a pair of scissors in a soft voice and Tom remembered having felt instinctive disgust at the sight of such weakness. 

He had quickly given the packed items to the boy after accepting the money and had watched him through the window as the boy had looked at something with apprehension and tiredness across the road. A pudgy figure had soon come into view, spitting viles and pushing him onto the hard pavement. It was, frankly, humiliating.

And the boy had obviously felt the same because Tom could still clearly see the anger and shame on Harry’s young face before he had shocked Tom to the core.

For the pudgy boy that had been there a moment ago was then standing in the middle of the road, stunned at his situation and flailing his big arms when a car had passed him closely.

Tom will always remember the feeling elation and kinship he had felt when he had seen someone just like him. Someone who could make things happen. Someone who could make people _hurt_.

Just like him.

And Tom had been on his feet in an instant to go outside but the boy had already run away. 

After that day, Tom never flipped the sign. But Harry Potter never returned.

❊●❊

Burgundy eyes were fixed on the pair talking amongst themselves. Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger had never aroused his interest. The latter was certainly more bearable than the former on account of her intelligence but still. Harry had such odd pair of friends. They both looked concerned now and Tom knew why.

Harry had skipped lunch and now was skipping dinner. 

Tom scraped the rest of the peas into his mouth and quietly stood up. He gripped Abraxas' shoulder lightly at the questioning glance and then made his way out of the Great Hall. Abraxas knew how to act as his proxy.

The handsome boy quickly discarded The Room Of Hidden Things as the potential place for Harry to be at. He was aware that Tom conducted his Death Eaters meeting after dinner for debriefing. The Hogwarts kitchen was also another dead end. Dobby had said as much. Tom wasn’t sure how much stock to put in the elf’s words. He was extremely loyal to Harry so if he didn’t want to be found, Dobby would make sure he wasn’t.

There was one other place. But Harry hadn’t gone their for more than a year.

Tom quickly diverted his route and soon was climbing the stairs to the top of the Astronomy Tower. The circular space opened wide, housing dipping ceilings and wide open, orbital balcony. The night air was cold and nipped at Tom’s skin like pinpricks of thorns. He closed his eyes and simply felt.

Harry was here. And he was hidden.

He stood motionless, waiting to hear any sound, even a rustle to set him in the direction. He almost smiled when he heard it and then Tom was quickly walking towards the large pillar on the west, his feet and robes silenced.

He could sense Harry sitting on the parapet and without any word, Tom placed his elbows on it and looked at the whole of Hogwarts draped under the night sky. He could hear the scraping of clothes and heard a tired sigh. The older Slytherin could feel a sense of gravitas fill the air along with the quiet. 

“I used come up here almost every weekend since second year. Sometimes to escape from all the noise. Sometimes to clear my head,’ Harry whispered softly.

“Sometimes to remind myself that I’m in Hogwarts and not at the Dursely’s.” The words felt damning

Whenever he was reminded of the Dursely’s, Tom felt an anger that was entirely unique. It was not the anger he felt when he thought about the Riddle and Gaunt family, the anger that simmered underneath the crust, becoming hotter at every reminder, waiting to tear apart even the smallest of cracks to come bubbling to the surface.

It was an anger that hit him like tidal waves of an inferno. 

“You know, my offer from fourth year still stands,” Tom said seriously but Harry just laughed it off. He was really in a habit of burying Tom’s murderous instincts under a layer of ignorance and nonchalance.

“Tomorrow is the anniversary of the day Sirius and Remus adopted me. Last night, I went to sleep thinking I’m where I’m supposed to be. Today I woke up with the fear of the Dursely’s hanging over me like a swinging scythe.” Harry’s voice wobbled. “ I feel like I stumbled down the steps that I believed I had climbed already.”

“I don’t know what to do Tom. I-I want to get past this but there’s a wall and it’s not fucking _yielding._ ” He could hear his boy start to cry and his hand immediately flashed underneath the cloak and entangled with a pale one. 

“I can’t help you on this, Harry. This is something only a therapist can resolve and I reiterate my point on you seeking one.” 

“But what I can help you with is,” Tom tightened his grip and continued. “ Being there whenever you need me.My quarters are always open to you and you know Amadèi sleeps with a silencing charm.”

Being open with Harry was something Tom never had trouble with. He was Tom’s after all.

When Harry finally squeezed his hand back in affirmative, Tom could feel himself relax slightly. He hoped it also meant the green-eyed male was going to seek therapy. He wished he could force Harry but that was a landmine Tom knew to avoid. It had to be Harry’s decision if it was to work.

They fell into a comfortable silence and observed the white veil of lights over Hogsmeade. He had never gone there with Harry. He didn’t know when he was going to be able to.

“Why won’t you date me, Harry?’

Even with the Invisible Cloak hiding him, Tom could viscerally feel Harry flinch. He was aware he shouldn’t push in this situation but the older Slytherin was tired of not knowing. Of tiptoeing around it. 

When a few more minutes passed without a response, he prepared himself to divert the topic and soon leave. He had his meeting to conduct and then rounds to make.

“ _Tom_ , I had noticed you the minute we got on the train to Hogwarts back in first year." The words almost gave Tom a whiplash. Of course he wasn't alone in this dance of theirs.

"And that continued for subsequent years too. I observed everything about you. The way you _talked_. The way you _dressed_. Your many _faces_. It meant I also saw your surroundings slowly change and evolve into what it is now. “

They heard a loud howl followed by the barking of dogs but neither of them paid attention to it. This conversation was going to change their relationship. For better or for worse. For now or _for_ _forever._

“Abraxas Malfoy was a condescending piece of shit who had refused to sit with you during class. Lestrange had been the first one to call you a mudblood. Evan Rosier had simply ignored you. And Tom, now, they shine your boots and kiss your feet. Their whole personality has been buried so deep that I’m sure they don’t even know who they were before you.”

In the midst of his spiel, Harry had turned his hand and was now running circles on his palm with his index finger.

“Tom, my idea of self is weak, fractured and only held together through sheer will. Despite it all, I cherish it. And I don’t want to lose it. Being with you means surrendering myself wholly and completely, for _you demand_ nothing less. That is not right for me.”

The next words were spoken like an age-long secret, thoughts that had slithered out from the fossa of his skull. “Because _sometimes I want to, Tom_. Just give you every jagged piece of me. But I’m afraid that if you are ever done with me, I will be buried too deep to be found. There would remain no me without you and I refuse, Tom.”

“I refuse. I refuse. _I refuse_.”

Instead of circles, there were now nails embedded in his skin and Tom took it all. Relished it. For he had his answer now and he already knew what to do about it.

He removed the cloak and softly cupped Harry’s face. Such an enchanting creature. Tom wanted to lick the dewy tears and bring them out again and again only to be swiped away by his tongue. 

“ _Darling_ , you are defiant. Rude. Messy. Sometimes too lazy. Don’t care about school even if you should. Have an undeniable saviour complex. Talented in Quidditch and Dark Arts even if you deny it. And so handsome. But above all, you are _strong_. Stronger than most.”

“ _And I ache for you, my sweetheart_. Your jagged pieces and all.”

He touched his forehead with Harry and breathed. Just breathed it all in.

“So if you need time, I will wait for you. But in return all I ask is your fidelity during that period.”

For this, Tom turned his boy’s head up and showed him how serious he was. And how dangerous the consequences could be.

“Will you promise me that, _my sweet Harry_?”

At the answering nod, Tom pressed his cheek to Harry’s and rubbed it. He pulled his boy close. Closer and closer to the jaws of his ribs. He let Harry bury himself in the older boy’s arms and trailed kisses along the arch of his head.

Waiting was not a problem for Tom. He had waited for the past eight years and willing to wait for eight more. 

For when obsession comes full circle, there is no letting go.

**Author's Note:**

> here's another fic to add to my trash pile
> 
> I am so excited to write a long fic with these two. I already have an outline in my head for the plot. I will start it after posting two other one-shots i had in mind. This is such a dynamic pairing. I love it.
> 
> I made a [Tumblr](https://circleofplanets.tumblr.com/)! Ask me anything and follow for updates!


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